Heavyweights ya they are. You can't deny they have less talent than the ufc's heavy division.

casey64

11/23/08 8:34:01AM

Posted by cmb19932

sad part is i don't see him beating any top hw in affliction

JackHammerXXX

11/23/08 8:59:18AM

Great stuff in this thread, I might say... Werdum is a case of a guy getting shown the backdoor out, or rather getting knocked out of the door. Werdum, after the Arlovski fight, which he is in the "fight" as well, so the lack of action wasn't all Andrei's fault, granted he didn't engage in the ground fighting, and would have preferred it standing, and so it went, that's why he came out with the victory, Fabricio didn't gain any fans, or help out his appeal any from it. And the UFC remembers that, I believe.

So it went, the guy goes out and TKO's Gabe, which in the UFC's HW division, was the last contender for the belt. That should've and 'did' put him in line. Now, he goes out and TKO's Vera, which in my mind, would mean he was either 'the' no.1 contender, or should fight for the shot at the belt with somebody. Subsequently, the Vera fight is/was controversial, and Brandon is on the outs in my mind (we are talking about fighters who make 80,000+ for a fight i.e.Vera's 100,000 paydays, were they 200,000?) with the UFC, has left the HW div. for now, and lost and won,barely, in two uneventful decisions. That being said, Werdum was on the fence , while the deal was made for Randy and Brock to fight, After the fact, that Nog got the job with Mir to coach and fight for the interim champ., all this nothing of Fabricio. He almost got stiffed in my opinion.

Now, when I seen him looking "flabby and sick" against Santos, I thought "man, he didn't care about this one, and was prolly pissed about all the HW stuff going on without him". Sure enough, the guy gets cut. Props to Santos, I love when a competitor comes out and does what he does, no matter who it is. I agree, the idea of Werdum fighting isn't as sexy, marketable, profitable as let's say a Lesnar, Couture, Gonzaga, Nog, Mir, ...........that's about it but, that's it, they don't have the pool to pull fish out of yet.

Hope he goes someone good, Fabricio is a top 12, top 10 HW for sure, and deserves good matchups, as long as he don't use the weight excuses anymore, Lesnar is in the UFC, he isn't anymore, no more packing on weight for future showdowns bum.

warglory

11/23/08 9:31:30AM

Posted by cmill21

Your comparing a guy who made 350,000 to a guy making 80? Top 10 fighter money is 100,000+ IMO. I really don't see it as the same situation, one had a guy lose twice beating no top contenders while the other FINISHED 2 before losing.

100,000? Really? How much do you think Miguel Torres, Uriah Faber, Robbie Lawler and others outside of the UFC limelight make? These guys are rising in popularity, and are clearly top 10 fighters, but just because you are a talented individual doesn't mean you are going to make what you deserve. Do I agree with this? Not necessarily, but Werdum making $40,000 plus potential bonuses if he busts his ass, plus his sponsorship deals is still way more than what the average fighter makes. Werdum needs to learn to fight for the fans, not just himself. This is sport, not the Olympics. We pay money to see competition, and when you don't deliver, win or lose, you are going to get a phone call. I don't know if Werdum was necessarily deserving of his contractual downgrade, but when you compare him to Jon Fitch or Clay Guida, seriously, there's no comparison.

bootyclause

11/23/08 9:45:57AM

there is an odd fascination with the "top 10" label in MMA hardcore fans and media. In boxing if you get locked in at 8th in the world, no one really wants to see you fight over and over once you cant beat the better guys.

In MMA the core fans somehow think that seeing the same guys over and over win or lose is great. I firmly believe in the UFC's boxing style format - lose too much and you're gone unless you're really popular.

The idea that Werdum is a valuable part of either org is crazy. He is not that exciting and has proven he can't be the champion.

UFC cutting a 6 figure contract and letting Affliction overpay is a great move for them, not a bad one.

warglory

11/23/08 10:08:57AM

Posted by bootyclause

there is an odd fascination with the "top 10" label in MMA hardcore fans and media. In boxing if you get locked in at 8th in the world, no one really wants to see you fight over and over once you cant beat the better guys.

In MMA the core fans somehow think that seeing the same guys over and over win or lose is great. I firmly believe in the UFC's boxing style format - lose too much and you're gone unless you're really popular.

The idea that Werdum is a valuable part of either org is crazy. He is not that exciting and has proven he can't be the champion.

UFC cutting a 6 figure contract and letting Affliction overpay is a great move for them, not a bad one.

Well I agree to a certain extent with what you said about fighter popularity being a pre-requisite, but I also think that MMA culture is a much different breed. Winning and losing are not what makes a fighter great, in MMA the former champion and legend Randy Couture has a relatively insignificant record on paper, especially by boxing standards, the same goes for Clay Guida and Chris Lytle. However, we all still love watching them fight, which is why they stay as main card attractions, because they put butts in the seats and give the crowd their money's worth. This is a HUGE reason why MMA is gaining so much attention from boxing fans, because this new upstart sport actually gives a damn about the talent and not about their padded records.

Jackelope

11/23/08 10:26:16AM

Posted by Kracker_Jap

Makes me wonder why we still post on how much UFC (Zuffa)fighters are paid....

When the smarter of us all know that the UFC is a private company that does not release all of there pay to the press.....

We have only seen them open their books once and it proved to us all that they pay way higher than what is listed....

And just recently Fabers coach had to come out and defend the listed pay and explain that he had had been paid higher than what was listed

So why do you guys still post arguments based on what MMAweekly says the payouts where??? When it has been all explained before

That argument is irrelevant to the Werdum argument right now. The issue isn't how much he's getting paid, it's the fact that he can only negotiate his contract once, and even then he has hardly any leverage, but yet the UFC can renegotiate his contract any time they want. It's just not fair. Like I said- a contract should be binding on both sides. It's just fair treatment.

mrsmiley

11/23/08 10:33:59AM

With the way the company never seems to be worried about cutting anyone,it's further proof of how they're devolping their brand.Much like the WWE.In 10 years the UFC won't even need top talent fighters because the name "UFC" will be so strong,the casual public will automaticly assume they have the best the world has to offer.

Gweedo

11/23/08 11:26:02AM

Fab vs AA rematch would b nice 4 AA 2 get revenge but not a big draw. I dont think Fab can draw at all anyway!

soundboy1

11/23/08 7:08:03PM

Posted by mrsmiley

With the way the company never seems to be worried about cutting anyone,it's further proof of how they're devolping their brand.Much like the WWE.In 10 years the UFC won't even need top talent fighters because the name "UFC" will be so strong,the casual public will automaticly assume they have the best the world has to offer.

This whole situation is another blatant example of why these fighters need a union. The man was in a contract and the UFC decided they didn't want him anymore after he got caught. I don't even know how it's legal! It just goes to show that Dana does not care at all about the integrity of MMA. He was instrumental in giving birth to the sport and now that it's becoming a legitimate sport he is showing that really he's just a promoter. He doesn't care about the fighters,fans or even the UFC. his actions prove that he is only out for #1.

warglory

11/23/08 10:12:06PM

Posted by soundboy1

Posted by mrsmiley

With the way the company never seems to be worried about cutting anyone,it's further proof of how they're devolping their brand.Much like the WWE.In 10 years the UFC won't even need top talent fighters because the name "UFC" will be so strong,the casual public will automaticly assume they have the best the world has to offer.

This whole situation is another blatant example of why these fighters need a union. The man was in a contract and the UFC decided they didn't want him anymore after he got caught. I don't even know how it's legal! It just goes to show that Dana does not care at all about the integrity of MMA. He was instrumental in giving birth to the sport and now that it's becoming a legitimate sport he is showing that really he's just a promoter. He doesn't care about the fighters,fans or even the UFC. his actions prove that he is only out for #1.

You don't know that they didn't want him anymore. They wanted to downgrade his contract, he refused, so they let him go.

soundboy1

11/23/08 11:18:19PM

Exactly! downgrade his contract. ITS A CONTRACT!!!!!!!!! No buyers remorse! I just feel that fighters in general get treated like shit. UFC fighters need to form a union or at least agree to not accept certain terms. While it may look good for the short run, it does not show a promising future for the sport. If the fighters are treated poorly why would young people pursue it? Dana white is doing to the UFC what Don King did to boxing...